To all exchange and visiting students Hello there! It is now getting closer to your arrival in Bradford and we look forward to meeting you and welcoming you in September. Therefore, we would like to share some information with you and firstly for those of you who are not already aware, we are pleased to confirm that the pre-arrival guide is available on-line: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/international/preparingfor-your-arrival/ Please read this guide carefully, as it provides useful information for planning your journey and there is a checklist of things that you are required to bring with you. However, some of the information regarding orientation and enrolment for international students refers ONLY to full-degree students and therefore I will highlight some of the specific changes for exchange and visiting non-degree students in the following text. There is also some additional information, which we hope to make your life easier for the planning of your arrival in Bradford and the UK. We hope you have a very safe journey to the UK and once again we would like to say that we look forward to welcoming you to Bradford in September. If you have any queries regarding your study, please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues at international-office@bradford.ac.uk Best wishes and see you soon. Safe journey! Sue Bunney International Co-ordinator for Study Abroad and Exchanges PRE-ARRIVAL INFORMATION FOR EXCHANGE AND VISITING STUDENTS ACCOMMODATION: If you have not done so already and would like to apply for a place in University owned or approved accommodation (single study bedroom suitable for unaccompanied students), please see the website for further details, including the application form: http://www.brad.ac.uk/accommodation/ We recommend that you return your application form for accommodation as soon as possible - the deadline date for guaranteed accommodation in the student village (Green) is 17 August 2012. Please return the form by e-mail or fax directly to the Accommodation Office and not the International Office. If you are looking for private accommodation then please check this website: http://www.brad.ac.uk/accommodation/private-rented-accommodation/. There are lots of opportunities for getting a room in private accommodation within easy walking distance of the main campus. We have been notified by the Accommodation staff in the “Green” that students who have already applied for accommodation in the Green will receive offers of a place during the first half of August onwards. Note: All ISEP students have a room reserved in Dennis Bellamy Hall, which is private accommodation less than 10 minutes walk away from main campus. All students should receive details from the accommodation provider of where and when to collect your keys. However, if you arrive out of normal working hours 08.00 – 18.00, or arrive when the pick-up service is not available then you are advised to make your way to the Richmond Building main reception and the security staff will direct you to your accommodation from there. We recommend that you contact us by e-mail: international-office@bradford.ac.uk to let us know so that we are aware and can make sure that you have your key for your room or we can arrange a temporary room for you. Accommodation Costs Please note : The minimum length of stay in Halls of Residence is generally one semester. Student's who book accommodation for shorter periods, are likely to be requested to pay the rate for one full semester. If you have further queries regarding accommodation, you should contact the Accommodation Office on +44 1274 234883/236124 or halls-ofresidence@bradford.ac.uk. There is a Helpline facility available between Thursday 16th August and Friday 21st September to help assist with a wide range of questions. Tel: +44 (0) 1274 234890 Bedding Packs There will be bedding packs available for purchase from the Students’ Union Shop in Student Central on main campus. The shop will be open up until 22.00 but the students’ union will be open up until the early hours of the morning so late arrivers will be able to get the bedding too. The bedding pack will consist of duvet, duvet cover, sheet, pillow and pillow case(s). The cost is £25 for a single bed and £35 for a double bed. However, there will also be an opportunity to go on a guided shopping trip at the local shopping centre or book a ticket to travel to Ikea to purchase bedding if you wish. This will of course depend on your arrival time at the University and whether you have the energy to go shopping after a long flight in some cases! ARRIVAL AND ORIENTATION: It is strongly recommended that you plan your journey to arrive on Saturday 15 or no later than Sunday 16 September. Please note that the dates (12-14 September) referred to in the pre-arrival guide for the enrolment of International Studies are for full degree students only and not for exchange or visiting students. Therefore, it is optional whether you choose to arrive earlier than 15 September – we are happy to meet you at last after all the e-mails and telephone calls! Please bear in mind that for those of you who are travelling a long distance then you may suffer from jet lag and therefore should try to plan your journey accordingly, so that you can attend and actually enjoy the orientation events without suffering from too much tiredness. Meet and Greet The Students’ Union (UBU) will be organising the pick up service from Leeds and Bradford airport and also Manchester airport. Therefore, please send an email to pick-me-up@bradford.ac.uk and include your Name, UB No (on your offer letter) and flight details, i.e. airport and arrival time. The service will be available from 12 September to 17 September. You must pre-book to reserve a place. On arrival at the University the student chaperones will then help you to find your room in accommodation halls. If you are making your own way to Bradford then please refer to Section 2 of the pre-arrival guide. Orientation Event All students are required to attend the main Orientation Week – 17 to 21 September, as there are lots of things going on during this week that new students need to be aware of. This also includes formal enrolment at the University and the registration of classes. There will be lots of Information Sessions each day between 12.00 and 13.00 providing lots of useful advice to students such as: health and safety, opening a bank account, working in the UK, how to make your money go further and much more. During the week there are also opportunities to do a campus tour, city tour, shopping tour and visit places of interest in the local area. The full Itinerary of events organised by the International Office will be available on the International Office website shortly: http://www.brad.ac.uk/international/ . You will be notified by the International Office by e-mail when the Itinerary is available on the web ENROLMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY: All students are required to formally enrol before your status as a fully registered student of the University of Bradford is confirmed. The FIRST part of enrolment is done online and can be done before your arrival in Bradford. You will be sent details by e-mail, of how to complete the first part of enrolment at the end of August/early September directly from the University’s Student Administration Support office (not the International Office). Alternatively, you may do the first part of enrolment on arrival at the University of Bradford, so if you experience problems with pre-enrolment at home, then please do not worry about it as it can be sorted out easily . There will be student helpers and members of staff on hand to assist you. Please remember that your place is reserved here at the University regardless of whether you complete pre-enrolment before you get here. The SECOND part of enrolment for all exchange and visiting students will take place during orientation week and there is a dedicated time slot for this on Friday 21 September at 15.00. Therefore it is very important that you attend the time allotted to the group of exchange and visiting students. You will be provided with the details of where to go etc when you attend the Welcome Meeting for Exchange and Visiting students on Monday 17 September. Please bring original transcripts and English language certificates (if appropriate) with you. If you have sent us originals with your application then we will have these in our files. Once you have completed all stages of enrolment you will be issued with a student ID card, which will give you access to the library, computer centre and students union events EXCHANGE AND VISITING STUDENTS WELCOME MEETING: This will take place on Monday 17 September 2012 in J19 Richmond Building on main campus at 13.30. You will meet various members of staff from across the University and learn about the facilities and services provided and it is very important that you attend this meeting. It is important that you attend this meeting to meet key University contacts and to collect the information and details for your departmental meeting. FACEBOOK: The International Office invites you to join our new facebook group, which is specifically for incoming exchange students joining us in 2012-13. Please join the group “Incoming Exchange Students 2012-13 – University of Bradford” to find out further information. HEALTH CARE IN THE UK: Please note that there have been recent changes to the entitlement of free health treatment on the National Health Service (NHS) for students who are here for less than 6 months. There is information on the Student health webpage: http://www.bradfordstudenthealth.co.uk/overseas_entitlement.htm. Therefore, all students should bring a copy of their health insurance documents with them. Students will be able to register with the Student Health Centre on arrival and receive medical advice. INDUCTIONS IN THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS: Copies of the departmental inductions and welcome meetings will be provided at the main Welcome meeting for all exchange and visiting students on Monday 17 September at 13.30 in J19 Richmond Building. You will most likely be invited to meet the co-ordinator responsible for exchange students separately to the departmental induction where you will be able to discuss timetables and your choice of modules (courses) etc. Academic matters The academic timetables will be available from the International Student Information Point as well as at the departmental inductions. You will have an opportunity to meet staff in the departments to discuss your choice of modules and you will be informed at the Welcome Meeting when you are scheduled to meet with staff in the departments. Modules (Courses) Please note that you are expected to take at least 40 Bradford credits in one department, which usually will be your major subject. A full study load is 60 Bradford credits. Courses numbers ending with an M are 10 credits, course numbers ending with D or L are 20 credits. Some courses ending in L are not always appropriate for students studying for one semester only and are subject to special arrangements with the specific department involved. Registration of Classes This is done when you arrive at the University and not before. Erasmus exchange students will be given a form to complete with their module (course) selection and then they will hand it to the department, so that they can register/enrol you for the classes during orientation week. All other exchange and visiting students will be given a form to complete with their course selection and will hand it in to the International Office who will register/enrol you for the classes. The form will be given to you at the Welcome Meeting on Monday 17 September. Do not worry about classes becoming full as they will run additional classes if necessary – this is the Bradford way of dealing with popular classes! Support All exchange students will have the support of the international office staff who will be able to assist with timetables and module queries every afternoon during orientation week. You will have plenty of support whilst here; all students will be allocated a personal tutor which is someone that you can go to for advice and you will also be able to see the International Student Adviser or myself the Study Abroad Co-ordinator if you have any concerns whilst here. There will be plenty of opportunity to meet with the International Office during welcome week. We will gladly fax back your Confirmation of Arrival forms, changes to learning agreements etc to your home University for all students who are required to do so. Academic Calendar SEMESTER 1 CALENDAR Orientation: Official Enrolment For exchange students: Semester 1: Public Holidays: 12 - 25 September 2012 (17 - 23 September for Exchange and Visiting Students) 21 September 2012 - Time to be confirmed 24 September 2012 - 18 January 2013 15 December 2012 - 6 January 2013 Examinations: 7 January – 18 January 2013 SEMESTER 2 CALENDAR Orientation: 18 January 2013 Official Enrolment for exchange students joining in semester 2: Semester 2: 18 January 2013 Public Holidays: 23 March 2013 - 7 April 2013 Examinations: 6 May – 24 May 2013 Supplementary Examinations (Resits 12 - 23 August 2013 21 January 2013 - 24 May 2013 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INFORMATION POINT: The International Student Information Point proves to be very successful every year with new students and is the place to be. Therefore, it is recommended that you head for the Richmond Building on main campus - there will be plenty of signs from the entrance of the Richmond Building to direct you to the room where the International Student Information Point will be located. Student helpers will be in the entrance of the main building to direct you too. The Information Point will be open from 08.30 - 18.00 from 12 - 25 September including weekends. There will be a team of student helpers and staff from the International Office to welcome you and help with any queries that you have. You will be able to pick up lots of information from there. There will be a message board where you can pick up or leave messages for other students or staff etc; campus tours and city trips will set off from this point. You will also be able to purchase tickets for trips to local places of interest including Saltaire - a World Heritage Site, Bolton Abbey/Skipton, York the capital of Yorkshire and even Ikea to purchase items for your room! You can pick up campus maps and city maps and bus timetables from here too. Students who experience problems with pre-enrolment can obtain assistance from the student helpers here at the Information Point. All students have access to a University telephone in the International Student Information Point so that you can call back home to let your parents know that you have arrived safely. OPENING A UK BANK ACCOUNT: There will be representatives from various UK banks here during orientation week. However, please note that students who are here for less than 6 months sometimes have difficulties in opening a UK bank account. Santander seems to be the only bank that will permit students here on short term study periods to open an account in the UK. Therefore, you are advised to make alternative arrangements for accessing money whilst in the UK and discuss this with your own bank before you arrive to make sure that you are prepared. ISEP students will be sent information separately about the payment of stipends. STUDENTS’ UNION – (UBU): The orientation period is also referred to as “Freshers” and there are lots of events organised by the Students Union too. We advise you to keep checking the Students’ Union webpages (UBU) - http://www.ubuonline.co.uk/ for further information. STUDY ABROAD FAIR: Each year we host our Study Abroad Fair in October and we rely on all our incoming exchange students and returning Bradford exchange students to help us to promote our partner institutions, their city and country. Therefore, if you could bring with you some small promotional items that will not take up much room in your suitcase then that would be great. However, we will also be contacting your home University International Office to send us a PowerPoint presentation, video or promotional brochures, which will help us to encourage Bradford students to think about studying abroad. We have great fun each year at the event and there are lots of prizes to be won for participants. Further details will be sent nearer to the time once you are settled in Bradford. ***